Last week, I got a message from a Facebook friend that started out something like, “Can you help me? I know I want to write a book, but I have no idea where to begin.” At first, I was scratching my head because I wasn’t sure how to come at this question. It was so open-ended.

I wasn’t sure how to start my side of the conversation without coming off sounding like a sarcastic asshole. Obviously, saying something like, “Start at the beginning,” wasn’t what she was looking for.

So, for a moment or two, an internal struggle ensued.

First of all, there are two ways of going about all this and the first thing you have to decide is, are you going to write a book because you have a story to tell? Or are you wanting to write a book because you think it’s a money-making gimmick? If you’re just at it to make money, I’m not the person to give you advice. I really enjoy writing. I always have. I always will. I can’t give you advice on hiring a ghostwriter, taking out a huge loan to fund your “get rich quick scheme,” and then fanning out those dollars like you’re a member of Migos.

So, I decided to assume she wants to write a book because she has a story to tell. She’s a sweetheart, by the way, and I chose to imagine this is what she needed. So… the internal struggle went something like this:

What do you tell her?

Why are you telling her anything? Do you know enough to be giving advice?

Will your advice be any good?

Much like when I write a book, I let my fingers fly (and I think sent a few voice messages too) and gave her the following advice. Is it good advice? I don’t know, but I wish someone had told me this stuff back in the beginning. So, this is more or less what I told her.

Pick a Genre: First, do you know what genre you want to write? Are you more into paranormal? Horror? Straight-up erotica? Action? Suspense? I could go on and on listing out genres and sub-genres. She answered that question quickly. Now, based on that genre, you’ll probably be able to decide the point of view you want to use. Certain POVs work better with specific genres than others.

Decide on a POV: I’ve written first, third, and even second-person points of view (which is usually reserved for “how-to” books like cookbooks, exercise guides, etc.).

Third-person omniscient is cool but a mistake a lot of new authors make (and I had a horrible time with this at the beginning) is head-hopping. The narrator might know everything everyone is thinking, but if you say what’s in Mary’s head and then what’s in Nick’s and then what’s in Jerry’s… eventually you’ll disconnect from the reader and cause a shitload of confusion.

Third-person limited is a lot closer to first-person and is what I now use in many of my horror stories. I’ve used first-person in horror, but my take on it is, when I’m reading at least, I feel that first-person POV in horror makes the reader feel like everything will be okay because the person must remain alive if they’re telling the story. I know that’s not always true, but it just kind of pulls me out of the “scary” sometimes.

Third-person (omniscient and limited) work well in large, world-building stories like science fiction and fantasy.

In the same way that first-person pulls me out of most horror narratives, it’s a very effective tool when writing Young Adult, Erotica, and most other romances. First-person sucks you in because you really feel like you get to know the main character. You can see things through his or eyes, feel the things they’re feeling, and share their experiences. In YA, you feel like you too are being picked on by the school bully and in romance, you feel like you’re right there under the covers, on the receiving end of that sexual favor.

Choose a tense: In addition to choosing a genre and a POV, you have to decide if you’re going with present tense or past tense? Is the story happening right now to your character or did it happen yesterday or last year? I pretty much always use the past tense. Again, just a personal preference. Sometimes present tense doesn’t quite register with me. I enjoy reading past tense.

Be consistent: Once you’ve decided your POV and tense, you have to stick with them. A big mistake first-time authors make is switching back and forth. The story is in third person talking about Sheila and Mark and then suddenly I’m reading, “So, I opened the car door and stepped out into the rain.” Or it was past tense and changed to present as in: Something thumped against the back of my head, and I nearly pitched forward onto my face. I stand up and rub at the back of my head. It was Robert who’d hit me.

Did you notice the switch there? Stick with one. It’s either a story in the past or it’s one going on right now. It’s either you telling the story, or it’s a story about them/someone else.

Now, you could have read all of that with a simple Google search, so I haven’t really told you anything new, but let’s pretend you’ve chosen to write first-person romance. Here’s are a few things I’ve discovered while writing quite a few books. (To check out my books click HERE for the full list)

Don’t be selfish: I guess before I say that, I should ask one other question. Are you writing this story simply for therapeutic reasons? Do you want it to sit on your bookshelf only? If so, that’s perfectly fine. In that case, be as selfish as you want in your story. However, if you hope to sell your book or have other people read it and enjoy it, you can’t tell a story that’s only important to you.

Let me explain. I think most authors if they really think about it, would agree with me when I say our first book tends to be something very personal. It might deal with how we grew up and our trials and tribulations. It might mimic a relationship in our life that went downhill. It might focus on abuse that is way too close to that which we suffered during childhood or in a past marriage.

This is fine if it fits in with your story, and if you’re able to use it while also spinning a yarn that entertains the reader. Many people have dealt with shitty upbringings and nearly all of us have had a bad break up. Reading about yours may seem unique to you and tragic, but will it seem that way to readers? Are you bringing anything new to the scene? Or are you simply getting everything off your chest in literary form?

Be careful that you’re not only writing what feels good to you. It’s not Chicken Soup for the Indie Author Soul.

Along those same lines, when you’re writing about a lifestyle or a profession that you know well, be careful that you don’t bog the readers down with information used to boost your ego. I’m sorry that sounds so harsh, but let’s be honest.

I’ll use romance as an example. I’m ex-military. So, when introducing a character and talking about the weapon he has strapped over his back, I could say Sgt. Andrews was armed with an M16A2 Rifle with 5.56 millimeter Nato ball and tracer ammunition, a one to five ratio. Ha. I remember having to say that whenever anybody important visited my post in Saudi Arabia.

While some military and ex-military people might read the book, there’s a good chance your audience members are romance readers who really like a badass military alpha male who can take care of his woman. They probably don’t care about all the specifics of the helicopter they climb into. If you’re writing the next Tom Clancy story, sure, but not if you’re writing indie romance.

For the most part, a gun is a gun, a pistol is a pistol, a grenade is a grenade, and a helicopter is a helicopter.

Likewise, when you write about somebody in an IT world or a cop on his beat, you probably don’t want to cover your story with a thick blanket of slang and information you think is cool but most readers would skim over. Why? Because you could lose your audience. If your character is a taxi driver and you once drove a taxi, sure, use realistic settings and situations to tell your tale, but don’t bore us with five chapters about the ins and outs of a taxi driver’s day-to-day shift. Does that make sense?

Start off with a bang: This is difficult to do sometimes. And in some ways, this goes back to not being selfish. Instead of talking about how you woke up Thursday morning and took your medicine because you always take your medicine and you take so much medicine, etc.

How about starting your story with how you walked outside to check the mail and as you stood in front of your mailbox just staring at the street, you decided to step out in front of a garbage truck. Tell us about the crunching of your bones and the grinding of gears, squealing of tires, and shouting of the driver while you lay in a puddle of blood realizing you should have taken your anti-depressants this morning.

Start your story out mid-scene if you have to. Make something happen and make it happen soon if you want to grab hold of your readers. I struggle with this sometimes. We all do. But if you can get to something exciting right away, you’re off to a running start while some other authors are crawling.

Don’t use “I” too much: I’m sure if you go back and check out my first books, you’ll see that I did this too. You have to remember that using first-person doesn’t mean saying, “I…I…I…I…”

Your book shouldn’t read: I woke up when the sun hit me and I rolled out of bed. I fell onto the floor. I should have gotten up an hour ago, but I didn’t. I’m late now. A lot of first-person stories, especially the authors’ first, first-person stories tend to read like a long grocery list or a bunch of diary entries beginning with “I.”

Try to mix it up. Instead of saying, “I fell out of bed,” maybe use, “With my ankles wrapped up in my bedsheet, I tumbled from the bed and fell onto the floor. Blinking in red and snapping me out of my sleepy haze, the clock next to my bed reminded me I had only fifteen minutes to get to school.” It’s not perfect, but it’s better than writing I…I…I…

The same rule applies to third-person POV. You don’t want to start every sentence with “he” or “she” or any other pronoun really. It’s a constant challenge, but if you treat it like a game, figuring out ways to begin your sentences differently can be fun.

I know, I’m a dork.

This blog post keeps going on and on, right? We’re almost done. I’d be doing you a great disservice if I didn’t mention…

Show, don’t tell: I hate it. You hate it. Everyone hates it. Hearing, “You need to show more and tell less” makes most authors cringe. It’s so hard to figure out! I know, because I struggle with it myself. So, I’ll give you one tip that my author friend, Faith Gibson, told me recently. Try not to use terms like “heard, looked, felt, smelled.” Basically, knock out all the senses lol.

What I mean by this is, instead of saying: Anna heard creepy sounds, show us what she heard. A baby cried in the back bedroom, a room where no baby ever belonged. Its wails filled the night, its cries crackling and trembling, and as it fought for breath, a sudden gasp of something punching it in the gut filled me with terror. The baby wasn’t alone in that room.

Or, instead of, he looked like an 80s rock star, maybe write something like: His hot pink and black tiger-striped T-shirt hung in tatters over his ripped black jeans. Teased hair stood up much higher than any man’s ever should, and his bangs curved up and to the right, rolling over like a wave about to break on a California coast.

Cheesy, I know, but hopefully, you get the point.

Instead of, he drank so much that he felt funny. Funny how? Maybe he felt seven-feet tall, like his head towered way too high above his feet and the weight of it kept him off balance like if he leaned forward at all, he’d have to run to keep up with his heavy noggin. To top it off, his tongue no longer existed. Instead, he had a wad of cotton that liked his lips so much it wanted to stay connected to them permanently.

Anyway, I’m goofing around at this point. Let’s move on to my last tip.

Fuck the rules: Okay, that’s horrible advice. First of all, if you want to make money and follow some of the big names in the business, you have to play by the rules. All genres have some.

However, if you want to know how most of those big names became big names in the first place, it’s because they broke the fucking rules to begin with, and in doing so, created new ones the rest of us feel compelled to follow.

For example, if you kill off the main hero or heroine in your book, you’re going to get a verbal ass-whoopin’ from your fans and readers. You’re going to get some reviews that tell you how much of an asshole you are. It’s just how it is. If your main dude cheats on his woman, you’re going to hear about it. If there’s not a happily ever after, you’re going to lose some review stars.

However, nearly every fucking Nicholas Sparks book kills off a main character. I mean, holy shit. You dive into his books or put on one of his movies knowing you’re going to cry.

Yet, one of the rules of romance is there should be a Happily Ever After at the end, or at least a Happy For Now. Nicholas Sparks practically says, “Get the fuck outta here with that rule.”

I’ve gotten low star reviews because one of my motorcycle club characters slept with other women when he wasn’t even really with the main female character yet. Of course, they hook up later, but they weren’t together yet. I’m sorry, but that’s just the life these guys lead. In real life, many one-percenters would cheat on their wives too (not all, but many). So, to think a guy won’t sleep with someone else when he’s just kind of flirtatious with a chick makes no sense. But, oh boy, I’ve heard about it in reviews. Yet, look at Sons of Anarchy. Jax Teller cheated throughout the whole show. He almost slept with his sister! (Of course, he didn’t know it was his sister).

Anyway, my point is, there are going to be a lot of rules. You’ll hear about them. It’s a good idea to figure out what they are. Then, it’s up to you whether or not you decide to follow them. In all honesty, you’ll probably make more money if you do. For me, I need to write the stories that demand to be told. My characters drive my books, not the other way around.

Now, all that said, I hope some of this was helpful. I hope I haven’t overstepped any boundaries by assuming you want to know this stuff. I’m not perfect. I make mistakes. You’ll find errors in my books, I’m sure. But I know how tough this industry can be, so I figure I might as well share some info every now and then when I think I’ve got something you might want to hear.

Thanks for reading,

Chris (CM) Genovese

BTW, check out my book page on this site by clicking HERE. You’ll see all my Razorblade Tumbleweeds MC books lined up side by side, and if you scroll down you’ll find all my other books too (under all three of my pen names).